The increasing internationalization of the fashion industry and consumers' shopping behavior, as well as the rise of online businesses, has resulted in shortcomings for consumers who shop for clothes. These shortcomings are becoming increasingly more pressing.
For one example, there are numerous standards and methods for describing the size of an article of clothing domestically and internationally. These standards (and methods for determining the standards) also vary between clothing types, manufacturers and brand owners. Staying informed and having access to the relevant information when it matters most, e.g., while shopping, poses a significant and burdensome challenge to consumers.
Finding a piece of clothing that fits well can be very cumbersome for consumers, due to various reasons. They may not be aware of their own clothing size, find sizing systems unintuitive (for example, a German size 98 is the equivalent of a German size 50 but cut for slim people) or are confused by the same printed size information on various items that may differ between specific countries and brands. Moreover, there are derived clothing sizes, such as “slim fit” for shirts, which may be a further source of confusion for consumers.
Furthermore, typical clothing sizes represent a tremendous over-simplification. Various clothing sizes are reduced to one or two standardized measurements, despite the complex shape of human bodies. As a result, knowing that a piece of clothing is, for example, of size M, does not often result in a proper or preferred fit.
A significant problem with purchasing clothing, particularly on-line over the Internet, is due to an extremely high rate of returned clothes. This may be caused by the difficulty that consumers face when trying to determine whether clothing fits, in part due to consumers making measurement errors when trying to determine their respective body sizes. Personal measurement errors occur even in those cases when an Internet-based clothing shop provides information to guide consumers how to determine suitable clothing sizes. Moreover, clothing sizes are often not properly represented which adds to consumer confusion and returns.